How to keep cottonwood out of the air conditioner

There are many regions and areas where cottonwood keeps on roaming in the air from one place to another, especially during its peak season. These trees are extremely tall and the cottonwood can become a cause of various kinds of allergies and other issues as well.

This is the reason that people from all around the world opt to clean their air conditioners so that they don’t have any issues during the whole summer season.

We all know that dirt and debris cannot only affect your air conditioner’s performance and ability to provide a high level of cooling but will definitely decrease its life as well. This is the reason that cottonwood is considered one of the ugliest hazards when it comes to air conditioners as it comes with all these factors such as seeds, dust, grass, etc.

That is why people frequently ask a single question on various platforms, how to keep cottonwood out of the air conditioner? Go on as this article will go through all minor to major aspects of this question. 

What is cottonwood fluff

Cottonwood is a very small cotton fluff that keeps on roaming from one place to another. These small cotton fluffs usually detach from cottonwood trees and float in the air. The cottonwood trees are usually 80 to 130 feet in height, allowing these fluffs to travel a long span above the surface.

The cottonwood can easily get inside the coils of an air conditioner condenser and is widely known to cause various kinds of allergies such as congestion, itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing, etc. Not only to you but cottonwood fluffs can cause issues in the air conditioner unit as well.

The cottonwood fluffs usually get sucked inside the air conditioner coils which can dramatically reduce the airflow and can cause a loss of big amounts. In the long run, this issue will make your AC unit less effective as it will have to use double if not triple energy to work properly. Even after paying utility bills for triple energy, you may not get as beautiful cooling as you were getting before.

Apart from the increase in utility bills, having cottonwood fluffs in your air conditioner condenser coils will make its components heated in minimum time. This factor can lead you to pay a great amount of money for component replacement or may even cost you a complete AC unit as well.

How to remove cottonwood from the air conditioner

You need to take action as soon as possible as getting late may increase damages and concerns. You may wash the cottonwood out of your air conditioner by yourself, even if it is possible, experts suggest taking help from professional teams.

Washing coils in the wrong manner may cause cottonwood to go deeper into the coils, increasing the problems by too many folds. If you still want to give yourself a try, below are the tips and step by step procedures that will surely help you out in this regard:

  1. One of the first and most important things to always keep in mind is that you should always start the cottonwood removal process after turning your air conditioner unit OFF. Never start the washing process while your air conditioner is running. This can cost you the whole AC unit within seconds.
  2. Now take a regular hose and start washing your air conditioner coils from top to bottom. Don’t use a power washer or hose with extreme pressure as they can cause the cottonwood fluffs to go deep down into your coils. Keep on throwing water in the coils going to the bottom and scrub the area with a soft cloth or something. This will allow you to take fluids out of the AC without damaging it.
  3. Keep on spraying water on the coils from the condenser exterior until the whole debris has come down to the bottom of the AC unit. Now remove the debris from the bottom and clean the unit thoroughly with a cloth or brush.
  4. Once you have cleaned the system thoroughly and there isn’t any debris or cottonwood visible, let it rest for a few hours so that water gets removed completely. Now turn your air conditioner ON and enjoy a comfortable environment.

How to protect the air conditioner from cottonwood

You may think of various things and methods that can protect your air conditioner from cottonwood. Some people suggest installing your air conditioner condenser in a gallery behind your home. Some people suggest putting mesh covers on the AC unit as it will stop cottonwood, dust, and various kinds of pests from getting inside to a greater extent.

There is no second opinion that all these above-mentioned practices can help you a lot to stop cottonwood from entering the AC unit but honestly, these are not the best solutions to the problem.

Prevent screens also known as cottonwood screens are the best options currently available for this issue. You should always opt for this equipment as your first choice and hopefully, you will never get disappointed. The passage below will tell you why cottonwood screens are simply the best.

Air conditioner cottonwood screen

Cottonwood screens are extremely popular as they have the ability to filter and protect air conditioner units from various kinds of hazards such as cottonwood, dust, bugs, bees, etc. It is highly recommended to install these AC cottonwood screens around your AC condenser as they can bring a wide range of benefits.

Some of the best and highly useful advantages of air conditioner cottonwood screen include:

  • It is one of the easiest pieces of equipment to install for the safety of your air conditioner unit.
  • Installing cottonwood screens around your AC unit will save a lot of your money in terms of maintenance, repairing, replacement, or sometimes save you from a complete system failure as well.
  • You don’t need professional assistance for the cleaning process as you can simply clean the screens on a regular basis without any major effort. All you need is a brush and a few minutes of time.

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